Retired Engineer Falls Victim to $130K Scam Involving Fake WhatsApp Crypto Trading App

Authorities are raising alarms about deceptive crypto trading investment schemes after a retired engineer lost roughly $130,000 to scammers using WhatsApp groups and fake apps.

Key Takeaways

A retired engineer lost around $130,000 to scammers who created a fake crypto trading setup via WhatsApp.
The scammers operated a fraudulent group and used a counterfeit app to lure the victim.
Investments were initially small but grew significantly, leading to devastating losses when the victim sought to withdraw funds.
Authorities recommend due diligence and verification of investment platforms to avoid similar scams.

Elderly investor viewing fraudulent WhatsApp trading app after losing crypto savings.

Overview of the Scam

A 65-year-old retired engineer from Miyapur was duped out of 1.28 crore rupees by fraudsters running a phony online trading scheme, according to reports from Cyberabad cybercrime police. The victim, who previously worked at a government-operated enterprise, lodged a complaint on Friday.

Details of the Fraudulent Operation

According to police reports, on November 4, the victim was added to a WhatsApp group named “531 DBS Stock Profit Growth Wealth Group.” This group was managed by someone posing as Professor Rajat Verma, with Meena Bhatt introduced as an analyst. The scammers encouraged the victim to download a mobile trading application, purportedly known as DBS, hosted under the domain ggtkss.cc.

The fraudsters enticed the victim with claims of exclusive access to block trades and premium initial public offering (IPO) shares, asserting these opportunities were not available to average investors. The victim started with an initial deposit of Rs 1 lakh on November 4. Soon after, the scammers allowed a withdrawal of Rs 5,000, which built trust and spurred further investments.

Between November 4 and December 5, the victim transferred more than 1.2 crore rupees across various bank accounts and via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions. These investments included participation in the Capital Small Finance Bank IPO and a share repurchase program.

Attempts to Withdraw Funds

When the victim tried to withdraw his accumulated balance, he was met with a demand for a 20 percent fee and was permanently blocked from accessing his account, as reported by the police. Following this, the victim promptly reported the crime to Cyberabad cybercrime police.

Authorities have initiated a case under multiple Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, in conjunction with the Information Technology Act.

Advice for Investors

Cybercrime experts are urging investors to thoroughly check investment platforms and ensure they have the necessary regulatory approvals prior to investing. They emphasize that scammers frequently use fraudulent credentials and promises of guaranteed returns as tactics, and advise anyone who suspects they may have encountered a scam to report it to cybercrime authorities promptly.